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SWEET POTATO TRIALS, 1904. 



By H. H. Cousins, M.A., F.C.S., Island Chemist, 



The value of the sweet potato has been brought home to the 

 people of Jamaica by the great benefits it conferred on the com- 

 munity after the destruction wrought by the hurricane of 1903 as 

 a quick growing crop of high nutritive qualities for providing 

 a speedy supply of food. The Agricultural Society distributed a 

 large quantity of slips received from Barbados and the Prison Farm 

 at Spanish Town. It is believed that the large crops of sweet 

 potato grown all over the island did a great deal to alleviate the 

 position of the peasantry during the past year. 



The sweet potato has been the subject of special experiments 

 by the Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies 

 and Mr. Hart of Trinidad has already issued seedling varieties of 

 great promise. To test the comparative merits of the sweet po- 

 tatos available in Jamaica, sixteen varieties were grown at the 

 Hope Experiment Station in plots each of 4*0 acre. At the end 

 of seven months' growth (February to October) the tubers were 

 lifted, weighed, san^pled for analysis and submitted to a test as to 

 cooking qualities. No irrigation was employed. The rainfall 

 during the period of growth was as follows : — 



1904 March ... 7' 51 inches. 



April ... 4' II 



May 



June 



July 



August 



September 



Total ... 31 17 



It is suggested that under irrigation some of the varieties, such 

 as Thompson's Favourite for instance, would have yielded much 

 more favourable results. 



The general experience seems to be that the sweet potato is 

 rather an erratic crop upon which to carry out field experiments 

 and the yield of tubers in this series can not be regarded as in any 

 way a final estimate of the comparative merits of the sixteen 

 varieties. 



The results as recorded by Mr. Cunningham of the Experiment 

 Station, together with his personal estimate of the eating quality 

 of each variety are as follows :— 



